Are you planning to buy a dryer for your household? If so, then you may first want to know “what size breaker do I need for a dryer.” As you see, dryers are very electricity-intensive appliances, and as such, require special circuitry mechanisms to ensure your home’s safety.
In general, the average dryer breaker size is 30 amperes, according to the National Electrical Code. For more info on “what size breaker for dryer is right?” head on and read below!
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The Proper Size of Breaker for Dryer
If you want to particularize your electric dryer breaker, then you can accordingly do so just by adhering to the specific rating of your electric clothes dryer.
Notes:
- The right breaker size is needed to prevent incessant tripping and untoward electric accidents from happening within your home. You see, dryers are load-heavy when it comes to consuming electricity. In this regard, the size breaker that you should get must be able to support the machine’s consumption.
- Electricity experts suggest that your dryer be installed with a dedicated circuit so that the electricity flowing through the appliance can be safely secured and monitored by the sole dryer breaker.
1. 240V Dryers
240V-rated electric dryers must adhere to the 30 amp breaker rating set by the National Electric Code. Although this may be true, you can also expect to see dryers that can nominally perform with 24 amp to 30 amp breakers. Nevertheless, it would be better to follow the recommended rating set by the National Electric Code for safe measures.
Additionally, the proper wire size for a 30A double-pole circuit breaker for dryer is either 10 American Wire Gauge (AWG) for copper cables or 8 AWG for aluminum lines.
2. 220V Dryers
Dryers that fall under this category require almost the same breaker rating as 240V dryers. Though 220V dryers can perform with breakers that range from 10 amps to 30 amps, it is the latter that is the most common in the market.
3. 110V/120V Dryers
Dryers that are rated under the 110V – 120V range are appliances that are regarded to be compact in comparison to 240V-220V-rated clothes electric dryers. Accordingly, due to their small scale, these dryers tend to consume less electricity — requiring a smaller-rated breaker.
To answer the question what amp breaker for dryer, 110V / 120V dryers can typically work with 7.5 amp to 15 amp breakers.
Aside from that, dryers this size also do not require their own separate circuit line, which means that you can just easily plug them almost everywhere in your home.
What Happens if an Installed Circuit Breaker Is Not Correctly Rated
Correspondingly, a lot could happen should you choose to install incorrectly rated dryer circuit breakers. In this regard, I have taken the liberty to list down the problems that could arise from using non-recommended circuit breakers.
1. For Lower Rated Breakers
Prominently, a lower-rated breaker for your electric clothes dryer could present a significant electrical hazard. In this regard, an installed lower-rated breaker will continuously trip as the dryer will pull in amperes higher than the breaker’s design.
2. For Higher Rated Breakers
Using a higher-rated breaker is also not recommended for electric clothes dryers, mainly because a breaker that’s rated above the recommended breaker classification can lead to an electric fire.
To give an example, a 40-amp breaker installed in a 30-amp circuit line means that the breaker cannot regulate the amount of electricity going through the said line. Explicitly, the breaker will only trip once the circuit reaches 40 amps, giving the line an ample amount of time to overheat and cause a fire.
Conclusion
Knowing what size breaker do I need for a dryer is indeed a challenge for many homeowners. Without background knowledge in handling electrical tasks, homeowners may find it difficult to determine the proper breaker for their appliance breakers.
Nonetheless, don’t worry! I specifically wrote this guide in order to aid you in finding the proper size breaker for your dryer. Hopefully, I explained everything clearly in this article. If you have any questions, then ask away in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
I am Edwin Jones, in charge of designing content for Galvinpower. I aspire to use my experiences in marketing to create reliable and necessary information to help our readers. It has been fun to work with Andrew and apply his incredible knowledge to our content.